Tales of a Thrashed TR

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WILL GO WRONG. (TALES OF A THRASHED TR) It is now eight years since Rusty our then newly restored 1959 TR3A has been put through its paces in countless club events and a number of bitumen rallies. Over this time I’ve been asked how many things go wrong and break surely since its an old car it must be a problem and isn’t it costly ? RUSTY DISPLAYING HER BEAR BEHIND AT TARGA Well to answer these questions I’ve put together a rough chronology of what’s gone wrong over this period.

Our first major breakdown occurred at Uralla NSW at the penultimate New England GP where late in the afternoon after trying to outmanoeuvre a gaggle of XK 150’and 60’s ( boy the are fast in a straight line but they seem to have difficulties going around corners ) the car stopped going forward whilst the engine continued to perform faultlessly. Assuming the problem was a failed clutch we hitched a ride back to Brisbane and went back to Uralla with a car trailer the following weekend. On investigation we found that the clutch was OK (it didn’t fail till a year later when it was replaced with a Stag clutch) rather the rear left axle key had split in half allowing the half shaft to spin freely in the hub. Hence plenty of revs but no forward movement. A second hand half shaft and new axle key solved the problem or so we thought A year later whilst enjoying the short circuit at Morgan Park Warwick a loud bang from a dropped clutch during the now outlawed standing start first car to the corner wins sprints revealed further half shaft problems. In this case as the photo show the half shaft simply separated into two pieces one in the diff and the other attached to the rear wheel. Again a second hand half shaft solved the problem or so we again thought. SEVERED LEFT HAND HALF SHAFT A little while later ( months really ), again at Morgan Park Sprints another loud bang with my brain telling me I needed to be quick and catch the massive oversteer from loss of control entering the home straight. However realising that the car was stopped and sitting at a funny angle meant another problem. A quick lesson in don’t get out of a car on a race track when there are five other cars on the track saw me behind the concrete barrier, which I had fortunately missed, looking at a three wheel car on the track and a fourth wheel lying forlornly in the grass. It turned out that a small crack in the wire wheel hub had turned into a big crack and then parted company with the car. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo as the local CAMS official decided to confiscate the offending parts for analysis and they have not been seen of or heard of since. This problem was solved by ditching the wire wheels and moving to minilite replica bolt ons. The following month having taken the Friday off to allow a leisurely cruise up Ma Ma Creek to Leyburn for the annual sprints, the normal loud bang was replaced with a cacophony of clatters from the normally robust and reliable engine. A slow speed trip back to the workshop revealed a bent pushrod which was quickly replaced. Since then they have all been replaced with a set of Triumph Tune competition push rods. With our next objective being Classic Adelaide and having noticed on the web that Cambridge Motor Sport in the UK had a line of CNC machined half shafts and rear hubs suitable for competition use I signed up for a set. I understand they are made from EN24 or 4340 steel and the half shafts are heat treated. Not realising our problems had only just started they were popped into the car and along with Don’s meticulous service and preventive maintenance it was off to Adelaide for my first real rally. The car ran prologue faultlessly but on the way back to the park the intercom developed a super loud crackle and the engine periodically began to lose power. On the long run back to Adelaide the problem become significantly worse so we dived into an auto electrician to solve the problem. As with the old adage that you only find a missing item in the last place you look it wasn’t till the last fifteen minutes of late time that we had left when one of the electricians said “ that sounds like a faulty coil “ that we found the problem. One problem solved is another created as we discovered returning to the overnight car park. The TerraTrip went berserk whenever the horn was pressed and given the large number of rally cars Rusty is capable of passing this was never going to be a serious problem but nevertheless it was annoying. After much checking we found the interference from hot wires running next to each other and once the wires were separated the problem was solved. A key feature of the first day in Classic Adelaide is the last run of the day a blast down the gorge known in the Australian vernacular as Gorge Road followed by a quick diversion up the Corkscrew (a wonderful series of hairpin bends up a very steep hill). Rusty had performed wonderfully until a crack was heard from the rear end. A quick examination did not reveal any problems. The next day at the start of one of the morning stages another much louder crack came from the rear end prompting a number of questions of concern from the following cars at the end of the stage. The car continued to perform OK but at lunch the car was jacked up and inspected but no problem could be found. That night the left rear axle was dismantled and we found the axle key had sheared jamming in the hub and had almost welded itself to the axle shaft. The parts were reorganised with a lot of filing and an electric sander. The hub was reassembled using high strength Loctite leaving us time for a very late tea, a quick sleep and back to the rally the next day. IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY THE LH SIDE OF THE KEYWAY IS DISTORTED At the end of each day the axle was checked, found to be loose, then pulled apart (hub pullers and sledge hammers do make life easy) reassembled and put back on the car. The only other mechanical incident occurred during the day when there was a change in engine noise from the specially installed 45 DCOE Webers. A quick examination revealed that one of the anti vibration seals had collapsed allowing air directly into the inlet manifold. A phone call to Sandy in the service vehicle resulted in a spare set from a better equipped competitor which solved the problem. Experience now seams to reveal that if something goes wrong or breaks it is more likely to be a new rather than old part. The car finished the event, after some drama, not a lot of spare time in the evening, but we had a great time. On return to Brisbane Don pulled it all apart again and discovered that there was a difference in taper between the half shaft and the hub. A new set of hubs were acquired, axles and hubs machined to match and put back on the car. A year of club events passed with the only drama being the disintegration of third gear at a Morgan Park Sprints. A rebuilt competition TR3 gearbox (utilizing I think a 2000 saloon lay shaft and needle roller bearings) was acquired from the UK and fitted. It was then back to Adelaide for the Classic. First day, first stage last corner, a wonderful uphill one right hairpin, there was no loud bang from the rear end this time, rather the car engine running just rolled to a stop about a meter before the finish line. As the road was up hill we had to roll back down the hill and sit out the rest of the day watching the cars go past then wait for the road to open and the tow truck to arrive. By this stage we were pretty experienced at diagnosing problems of an engine that ran perfectly but would not move the car. Another broken axle, this time at the diff end with a near perfect shear. Back to the workshop were Don was able to refit one of the original axles which we had fortunately brought as a spare in the unlikely event that an expensive competition axle would break!. We finished the event without any further problems. ANOTHER SEVERED HALF SHAFT Once home the emails flew thick and fast, had anyone experienced a similar problem and what was the solution. The original supplier indicated that no one else had experienced this problem and that the cause must have been something else other than the axles. The axles supplied by Quaiffe were no longer available. Discussion with our local rally engineering expert resulted in four new half shafts and hubs ( of the strongest available steel ) and along with two old axle carries resulted in four axles with hubs assembled that could be bolted on and off the car in minutes rather than the hours involved in dismantling and reassembly. With axles of new super strong steel it was then off to our first Targa Tasmania. Wet but wonderful we finished the first day with the only incident being a failed condenser which was replaced before lunch and returned to the service area for a check up. !@#$ but wouldn’t you know it, both hubs had lost tension and needed tightening. So off came the hub and axle and it became clear that not only had the hub become loose but that the axle had distorted at the diff end rotating a few millimetres. Luckily we had the spares so one was quickly fitted. The next day the same check revealed the same problem so the final spare was fitted. We managed to finish the rally without incident and picked up class and category wins so we went home happy but somewhat twisted. SEVERAL DISTORTED HALF SHAFTS (Bottom one is right hand side) Back home the diagnosis was that we needed to use even stronger steel so four more half shafts and hubs were built. After discussion a new set of half shaft were machined from 300M or Hituf steel and sent of to be heat treated. These were used for the usual club events and then it was off to Adelaide again. Adelaide turned out to be almost completely incident free apart from another competitor running into the back of us whilst returning from scrutineering to our apartment. Judicious use of sledge hammers and hydraulic rams (I wish I’d got a photo of Ted Davis standing in the squashed boot of the 3A swinging a sledge hammer) and a few cable ties, plenty of racing tape and a set of rear lights acquired from the Adelaide Hills just before midnight had us back on the road just in time for the prologue and an incident free event. Just as well as it was Ginetta’s first event as a navigator. On return to Brisbane the car was sent off to the panel beaters curtesy of Shannons but not until the half shafts were removed and the non heat treated axle found to have distorted at the diff end So a new set of Hituf axles were made and fitted to both sides. The post rally inspection also revealed fine hairline cracks developing along the join between the bell housing and the gearbox case so a new gearbox was acquired and the internals swapped over. A HAIRLINE GEARBOX CRACK TURNS INTO THIS In Tasmania for our next rally we were greeted by fabulous weather and another great event. On day three whilst queuing to leave the Casino car park the motor just stopped. Don quickly checked points etc and solved the problem by swapping to the spare coil installed on the block. Having a spare for as many things as possible seems to be the motto for a well prepared rally car. By the last day with only the now usual “check the hubs for tension “we had moved to first in class and category and were having the time of our lives. On the basis that something only goes wrong when you are having fun, part way through Mt Arrowsmith another loud bang but this time from the gearbox saw us slow to a crawl and eventually stop part way through the stage. By now we are old hands at this and relaxed on the side of the road and watched all the remaining cars fly past. A quick road side diagnoses put it down to a failed input shaft on the gearbox. To add insult to injury it then started to rain for the next five or six hours as we sat and waited for the road to be cleared and the tow truck to arrive. Back in Brisbane the gearbox theory quickly bit the dust as it became apparent the crankshaft had broken at the flywheel end. A BROKEN CRANKSHAFT After eight years Rusty’s motor had finally given up the ghost not too bad for a standard rebuilt motor that had not even been balanced. Out of adversity comes opportunity so we are currently building a new 2 litre competition motor based on a Moldex steel billet crank acquired off EBay some years ago. At the time of writing the motor is still not built but we are hopeful that the motor and car will be back on the road for this years Classic Adelaide PS By the way the half shafts didn’t distort, the hubs have maintained their tension and yes the financial controller tells me it is expensive